When nothing helped, Facebook did

KOLKATA: Facebook has breathed new hope into Satabdi Santra, the Howrah college girl whose mother Chaitali died in the gruesome parcel bomb attack at home in September. By her own admission, Satabdi lost faith in people after the mishap and began viewing strangers with deep suspicion. In addition to the grief and anger that surged through her was the helplessness and worry over how she would arrange funds to repay her father Himangshu's massive treatment cost.

When the financial situation began going out of hand, she wrote to chief minister Mamata Banerjee as well as the local MLA and MP, seeking support. But apart from Howrah Municipal Corporation that handed over Rs 10,000, no one responded. That is when she turned to Facebook and found help from unexpected quarters.

"The Facebook experience was overwhelming. People who were complete strangers stepped forward to provide moral and financial support. A member of the Mohun Bagan Facebook Fans Forum visited my father and another forwarded an appeal for financial help to me. These gestures went a long way in restoring my faith in people," said Chaitali, a journalism student who hasn't been able to attend college since that fateful day five weeks ago.

Sunandan Banerjee, a member of the Mohun Bagan Facebook Fans Forum, who provided his own bank account because all bank papers of Satabdi and her parents were destroyed in the blast, says he acted just as any other person would do on learning about her crisis. "She is a college student with no elderly family member to support her emotionally or financially. She hasn't even been able to grieve her mother's violent death properly as she has had to look after her father. I have tried to organize some funds but it is way short of what she needs right now," he said.

Though West Bank Hospital, where a battered and bleeding Himangshu had been rushed on a motorcycle, looked at the case sympathetically and lowered costs significantly, Satabdi is still saddled with a Rs 4 lakh bill. "Though there is fear of infection, I got my father discharged and brought him over to the house because the bill will continue to rise and I cannot pay it at the moment. Though the mediclaim policy reimbursed Rs 75,000 and relatives and friends contributed another Rs 1.40 lakh, there is still Rs 4 lakh I have to pay. The hospital authorities were considerate enough to release him on condition that I would repay it over a period of time," said Satabdi.

She is also worried about how to sustain the two nurses who attend to her father daily. Having suffered third degree burns, Himangshu is lucky to survive. With 80% burns in his legs and right hand, he is completely bed-ridden and undergoes dressing every three days. "Tapasidi, the 24-hour help for eight years, has not spoken about wages since the incident. But I cannot expect her to serve me without pay. Neighbours though have pitched in to contribute for the nurse's pay," she recounted.